


Mer AU

by DragonLover19



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-09-16 15:14:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16956396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonLover19/pseuds/DragonLover19
Summary: Mermaid Hat in Time Au! Created by teentinyhatkid on Tumblr and given permission to make these stories!





	1. Pup

Night waters were always calming.

When the light didn’t shine from above, and the waters were still and silent, life under the waves were in a calm lull that drifted many to sleep. During this time was a good time to hunt when no one was around to ruin the hunt. Darkness hid monsters in the shadows and the shadows hid creatures that did not want to be found.

In the cover of darkness, Snatcher could hunt in peace without anyone spotting him. His dark skin tail made a perfect blend to the shadows as he swam through his territory looking for food. He was a cunning Mer, using skills and tools to his disposal to trap prey and keep others out of his home.

The rumors about a vicious moray eel Mer was enough to keep most other Mers who were smart enough away. Others who dared entered were either scarred for life or never seen again. Fear was spread about to far reaches of the sea about the kelp forest and most days Mers would avoid such a place.

Except.

That wasn’t the case all the time.

The Mer’s ears twitched, picking up a soft sound that he had never heard before. It wasn’t the swish of a fish’s tail propelling through the waves, or the scratching sound of crabs walking along the sands, nor was it the sound of kelp being brushed against the skin of another Mer.

No, this sound was different. Too new and strange to understand. He needed to investigate.

Following the sound to a small clearing deep within his home, the Mer was surprised when he found a small young Mer pup laying on their belly in the sand calling out with chirps and squeaky wails. Normally finding an intruder in his territory would have made the Mer angry, but this was a pup. A very, very small pup. No bigger than the palm of his hand.

The pup had a purple tail with gold fins, brown tuffs of hair that faded into purple in the ends on top of their head. A betta fish pup perhaps? Getting closer, he peered at the small pup, circling around it at all angles. The pup stopped making noise once it had spotted Snatcher, staring at him as he inspected this young trespasser.

Blue eyes followed yellow eyes as the pair watched each other, not knowing what to do or how to act.

“Hm. You’re very small. Smaller than any pup I’ve seen in my time.” The older Mer finally spoke, settling down in front of the young pup. “Pups like you should be with their mothers.” He poked the pup on the side, making it squeak in surprise. “How did you manage to even get in here?”

The pup squeak and chirped as Snatcher poked them, flipping them over on their back. He frowned, spotting a still attached umbilical cord on the small pup’s chubby belly. The pup was probably no older than a week or two. And being such a young age, being away from their mother was dangerous. One thing know in Mer life was that pups relied on mothers for milk and learn skills to survive.

But, seeing how young and small this pup was, it was either abandoned or a strong current brought them here. He was hoping it was more likely the later than the former. Mers abandoning pups were rare if not seen as a little cruel. Pups were considered very precious to mothers and they would go to great lengths to keep them alive.

But that didn’t mean that all Mers were nice and loving parents. Often times when a mother abandoned their pups, it was often the case that the pup was weak, sick, or unfit to survive in the ocean. Some would call it a merciful death. He saw it as an excuse to not care.

Poking around the umbilical cord, he could tell this pup had been raised somewhat well since their belly was well rounded. If the mother had abandoned this pup, they surely would be much thinner than this. He could take some relief in that. So it was more likely the pup got separated. That was a high chance of happening. Pups often got separated from their mothers, especially new first time mothers that didn’t have experience with pups before.

So this pup got separated from their mother. Well this was surely nothing too big to worry about. The mother was sure to come and reclaim their pup soon.

“Hopefully your mother comes for you soon pup. Guppies like you don’t last long without them.” He poked their, or her as he noted the small size of the pup’s fins, nose. The little pup let out a squeak, rubbing her nose before grabbing Snatcher’s finger and starting nibbling on it.

“Hungry little thing, aren’t you?” Snatcher grinned, scooping the pup into his free hand. “I suppose I should get you to someone who could care for you till your mother comes for you.”

There was bound to be some Mers in the nearby reef that could care for this she pup for a while. Like a nursing Mer or someone with experience caring for pups. Right?

He was sure he remembered that being a catfish Mer with a young pup swimming about in the reef. Surely she could take care of this one as well.

^*^

“Look how tiny you are~! Yes you are~! Oh you’re so tiny~! Tiny tiny tiny~!”

Snatcher resisted the urge to groan as the female Mer cooed at the young she pup cupped in his hands. He was lucky to find the Mer who already had a pup of her own to care for. Though it was obvious that the Mer adopted this pup since the Mer was a catfish and the pup was a lionfish.

“Oh look at your lovely colors! I haven’t seen any Mers with colors like yours!” The Mer cooed, smiling as she let the young betta pup grab her fingers. “You’re going to grow up so pretty~!”

Snatcher cleared his throat, having enough of the mush. “I’d hate to interrupt this cute moment but is there any chance you can watch over this pup for a while? She got separated from her mother.”

The female Mer gasped in shock. “Well that’s horrible! Poor thing must be so lost without her family!” She picked up the small pup, cradling it in her arms.

“CC? Wha separtd mean?” The lionfish pup asked. This pup was likely only a year older than the betta pup.

“It means that she’s not with her mommy Mu. She needs someone to take care of her till her mommy comes to get her.” CC explained to the young pup. “For now, you get a new little sister! Isn’t that great?”

Mu glanced at the younger pup with her golden eyes, blinking a bit. “… why she urple? An wha fishy she?”

CC frowned a bit, looking down at the pup in her arms. “Hmm, well. I don’t know why she’s purple Mu. She looks to be a betta fish…”

“… CC?”

“Is there something the matter?”

“There aren’t any betta fish in this part of the ocean.” CC mumbled sadly.

“ _What?_ ” Snatcher wasn’t sure he heard right. “What do you mean not in this part of the ocean?”

“Betta fish are usually in a different ocean, very far away from here.” CC explained, hugging the pup close to her chest. “She… she’s very far away from her home.”

“… How far?”

“Almost to the other side of the world.”

Snatcher’s eyes widened. That far?! If that was true, then how did this pup end up in his forest?!

CC shook her head. “… I’m… I’m sure her mother is looking for her right now! In the meantime, I’ll look after the pup! Come on now Mu. It’s late and you should be sleeping now.”

“Aaaaaw!” Mu pouted as CC took her hand and led them away. Snatcher watched them go for a while before heading off back to his home. If the mother was looking for the pup, she could turn up at his forest looking for them. He didn’t like intruders, but that didn’t mean he could point them to where their pup was.

“But, if she really did come from the other side of the world, would their mother even come looking this far?” He wondered as he swam into his home, pondering over the pup’s fate that night.


	2. Boys

A boy.

There was a _boy_ hanging around _his **DAUGHTER**_.

Snatcher felt one of his eyes twitching. The half-eaten fish that he had caught in one of his traps drifted out of his hands and floated away into the sea, but he barely paid any mind to it because it wasn’t as important as the _boy hanging **around his DAUGHTER!**_

**_NO!_ **

Don’t panic Snatcher. It was probably just a friend of hers! Yeah! That’s it! Just a friend.

A friend who was the opposite sex, big and tough looking, and looking at the kid with a look that _he was **not liking ONE BIT.**_

Snatcher’s face twitched, slowly swimming up to them with a not so friendly greeting in mind for the mer boy.

^*^

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! I WAS JUST HAVING A NICE CONVERSATION WITH HIM!”

The group looked up at the pair swimming towards them. Hat Kid was screaming at Snatcher, who for his part ignored most of her ranting and had a satisfied smirk on his face.

“What’s all the racket now?” Conductor huffed, irked that his meal was being interrupted.

Hat Kid pointed at Snatcher, anger all over her features. “ _HE_ ATTACKED A BOY I WAS TALKING WITH!”

“I was just giving him a polite greeting.”

“ _BY RIPPING HIS EARS OFF?!_ ”

“As I said, _polite_.”

Hat Kid made a frustrated growl, swimming off deeper into the reef. Mu watched as her sister’s tail disappeared around the coral before turning her eyes on the eel. “Wow. I haven’t seen her that angry since the whole incident years ago.”

Snatcher cringed, but maintained an easy smile. “She’ll get over it.”

“Wait, I’m confused here.” Grooves looked at Snatcher, tossing his meal aside which was quickly devoured by MJ. “You ripped off someone _ears?!_ ”

“As I mentioned earlier, a _polite_ greeting.”

“Snatcher.” CC growled, tapping her claws on her arms.

“What?! It was a boy! Being around MY KID! How was I supposed to react?! Let some gross boy around my sweet innocent little—”

“She’s not a little pup anymore Snatcher!” CC snapped. “We’ve been over this for years now! Hat is a young adult! She allowed to have a relationship with another mer!”

“Not With A Boy!”

“Ahh quit yer bellyachin’ spook! If the lass wants tae have a mate, then let her have one!”

“I would rather have Moonjumper eat any male mer that tries to get close to the kid.”

“REALLY?!”

“Snatcher!”

“I’m not being serious about it!”

“Oh. Aaaaawwww.”

“Look! I wouldn’t mind the kid having a mate. But I will NOT stand for any guy who wants to be too uncomfortably close to her! She’s still so innocent!”

The four adults argued with the eel, going back and forth so many times that long hours passed and night quickly came upon them.

*^*

“Morning everyone!” Hat greeted, swimming up to her family and giving them hugs and giving Snatcher a small peck on the cheek before taking off.

Snatcher watched in shock, bringing a hand up to his cheek.

“What… just… happened?” MJ blinked, still trying to process the events that took place just moments ago.

“Uhh, Hat gave us all hugs?” Mu shrugged. “Nothing new really.”

“Since when did the lass hug us out of nowhere?”

“She used to do it all the time when she was younger. Maybe she’s just in a good mood today.” CC shrugged.

“Oh goody! It’s been a while since the darling’s been in a good mood.” Eyes turned to look at the eel.

“… what?”

^*^

Snatcher’s worst nightmare came true.

The kid had been acting oddly friendly over the last couple of weeks, and now everyone knew why. She brought back _a **BOY**_.

A Neon Dottyback male mer.

“Everyone! I would like you to meet my boyfriend!” Hat beamed brightly, her arms wrapped around the boy’s arms and okay it was killing time.

*^*

“Let me go.”

“No.”

“Let me go.”

“No.”

“Let me go.”

“No.”

“ _Let me go!_ ”

“ **NO!** ”

“Sitting on top of me will not make me change my mind!” Snatcher growled, trying to wiggle out from beneath MJ, Conductor, and Grooves.

“Look darling, the boy is nice.”

“N’ he’s not that bad.”

“And Hat seems to like him a lot!”

“Traitors! All of you are _TRAITORS!_ ” Snatcher snarled, clawing the sand and getting nowhere. “Just wait! You’ll see that I was right! No boy will have my daughter as a mate! And when I get my hands on him I’ll rip out his eyes for even looking at her!”

The three mers exchanged glanced with one another.

“Uh, Snatcher? You do realize that the boy is blind, right?”

Snatcher froze, looking up at the three with surprise. “Really?” They nodded. “… huh… Well I’ll rip out his tongue then for even talking to her!” The three groaned.

^*^

“Will you _try_ to be on your best behavior?”

“ _Hmph._ ”

“Snatcher.”

“ _No good little p—_ ”

“DAD!”

“FINE! Alright! I’ll give him a chance! Doesn’t mean I’ll like it one bit though.”

“Please try not to rip off his ears or any of his limbs.”

“I couldn’t if I wanted too kid. I don’t want to be smothered under blubber anytime soon.”

Hat smiled, kissing Snatcher on the cheek. “Thanks dad. And I promise, if this relationship doesn’t work out, I can always leave him for the sharks.”

“As you should.” Snatcher smiled.


End file.
